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Menefee (Leah Collins) Papers, 1852-circa 1979

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Menefee, Leah Collins
Title
Menefee (Leah Collins) Papers
Dates
1852-circa 1979 (inclusive)
Quantity
.9 cubic feet (2 document cases)
Collection Number
Mss 2519
Summary
Research materials and drafts of article "Cutoff Fever, 1853" (1976-1978) by Leah Collins Menefee and Lowell Tiller, regarding the Elijah Elliott wagon train to Oregon, 1853, and the Free Emigrant Road or Elliot Cutoff. Includes copies of diaries, reminiscences, and other documents.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

The discovery of an old log bridge on the Menefee ranch on Big Marsh Creek led Leah Collins Menefee to research the Free Emigrant Road, sometimes referred to as the Elliot cutoff or the Greenhorn Road. The cutoff was identified in an 1853 immigrant guide but was not traveled until 20 March 1853 when Elijah Elliot led a wagon train from the Malheur River to Lane County. The trail was purported to have had ample water and grass, and was less traveled and dusty than others. The Free Emigrant Road was unique in that it had no toll gates, was built from west to east by an established western community, was managed by three road commissioners chosen at a public meeting, and was funded by monies contributed by the people of Linn, Benton, and Lane counties. This wagon train has been referred to as "The Lost Wagon Train of 1853" and has been confused with the Stephen Meek Wagon Train of 1845.

Menefee stated that her purpose in writing the book was to explain why the cutoff was desirable, to gather and publish details of the efforts to build the road, to trace movements of the pioneers and separate their stories from those of the Meek wagon train, to prove that the "lost" immigrants were never really lost, and to detail how exploration and settlement of central and eastern Oregon proceeded after the Free Emigrant Road was established.

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Content Description

Papers include: draft of an article entitled, "Cutoff Fever, 1853" by Leah Collins Menefee and Lowell Tiller, published serially in 6 installments in the Oregon Historical Quarterly, 1976-1978 (vols. 77-79); and notes, correspondence, diaries, narratives, reminiscences, and other source data collected by Menefee and Tiller and relating to the locating and construction of the Free Emigrant Road, as well as to the first wagon train crossing in 1853.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any publication use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

Leah Collins Menefee Papers, Mss2519, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in two series:

  • Series A: Drafts of "Cutoff Fever," circa 1976-1978
  • Series B: Research materials (formerly Mss2519.1), 1852-circa 1979.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Donald and Leah Menefee, 1978 and 1991, Library Accessions 14635, 20557.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Overland journeys to the Pacific
  • Pioneers--Oregon--Correspondence
  • Pioneers--Oregon--Diaries

Personal Names

  • Elliot, Elijah
  • Tiller, Lowell, 1925- (creator)

Geographical Names

  • Oregon National Historic Trail
  • Oregon--Description and travel
  • Oregon--History--To 1859

Form or Genre Terms

  • Diaries
  • Letters
  • Reminiscences

Finding aid compiled by Shawna Gandy and Geoffrey B. Wexler
2006

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